School of Farming

about the school

teaching people to grow themselves out of poverty

We are passionate about farming and where food comes from, so when we had a chance to start our own
School of Farming we jumped at it.

The school is based in Kabbubu, a village in heart of poor rural Uganda, and it helps locals grow
themselves out of poverty by teaching farming skills and supporting them through their first
few growing seasons.

Graduates of the school are able to turn a modest plot into a sustainable resource that can feed a
family of four and earn extra cash on top to pay for school fees, health care and family essentials.
The difference this makes to people’s lives is huge.

the principles of the school of farming

The School of Farming is run by the inspirational Mr. Augustine, a passionate believer in the
power of education, who has dedicated himself to teaching farming skills and turning around the
fortunes of those in his community. Working together, we created the following principles:

1. develop the best farming techniques for the area

The school vs. traditional methods

Mr. Augustine tirelessly tests new crops, varieties and methods to find those most suited to the
ground in Kabbubu.

So far his students have achieved ten times the yield compared to traditional
farming methods and each season sees the yield increasing even more.

2. teach these techniques to as many local people as possible

Mr Augustine runs a new course each growing season (there are 3 a year in Uganda) and he is in
the process of training other teachers and working with the local schools to increase the reach of
the School of Farming even further.

3. support our students through their first few growing seasons

Mr Augustine on his rounds with one of his star pupils

Mr Augustine and his team of trainers assist all of our graduates through their first few seasons
to ensure all the lessons are put into practise and the full benefit of the course is reaped.

4. ensure our students get the maximum from their harvest

Ensure that our students and graduates get the most from their harvests by giving ongoing
advice on the best storage methods for the crops and when they should take produce to market.

We’re also working on setting up a farmers cooperative to help the individual farmers to get
more bargaining power and better prices still.

5. bring pride to farming

Sounds a bit simple but one of the challenges we’ve faced is that people don’t want to farm in
Kabbubu. Farming is seen as a low status activity for women and poor or failed crops used to be
the norm. "Go and grow some cabbages" was a well-known local insult.

However, we’ve already seen a change in attitudes purely from the success of our students.
Classes are now 50:50 male to female and have a long waiting list of farmers who want to join.